Automatic assembly machines are known for sequentially inserting terminals into respective cavities in a connector housing. The terminals are typically formed integral with a carrier strip which can be fed through the insertion machine. The insertion machine includes shear tooling for severing individual terminals from the carrier strip, and insertion tooling for stuffing the severed terminals into their respective cavities in the connector housing. In a known type of insertion machine the shear and insertion tools are discrete members which are individually separable from the machine. In order to change tools such as may be necessary to repair worn or damaged tooling or to accommodate a different size or style of terminal, both the shear tool and the insertion tool must be removed and replaced individually, thereby requiring two removal and replacement operations.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,531,280 to Bakermans discloses a terminal insertion machine having a modular insertion unit which can be removed for repair at a central facility while a replacement unit keeps the insertion machine operational. The modular insertion unit includes a terminal feed mechanism to feed a strip of terminals to a severing station, a terminal clamping and severing mechanism to hold a terminal in position while severing it from its carrier strip and to move the clamped terminal to a stuffing position, an insertion mechanism to drive the severed terminal into a cavity of a connector housing, and a cam drive mechanism to effect synchronous movement of the clamping, severing and insertion mechanisms. This modular insertion unit suffers from the drawback that the cam drive mechanism is included in the housing of the unit, thereby making the unit relatively large and heavy and making removal and replacement the unit difficult. Also, the cam drive mechanism adds greatly to the cost of each unit, thus making it expensive to keep a large quantity of replacement units in stock. Ordinarily, the cam drive mechanism requires little or no maintenance, and the same cam drive mechanism can be used to operate a variety of severing and insertion tools. There is a need for a modular tooling package which overcomes the problems associated with the prior art tooling packages.